Morning Read: Markets Want ‘Cliff’ Deal; ‘Not Close,’ Says Corker

By Brendan Conway

Market check: S&P 500 futures were as high as 1,434 this morning until Republican Sen. Bob Corker appeared on CNBC with a quizzical expression. The Tennessee senator — a bit player in the Obama-Boehner by virtue of being in the upper chamber’s minority party — said Washington is “not close” to a deal, despite the appearance of momentum last night after a reported shrinking of the gap between those people whom President Obama would tax versus House speaker John Boehner. Nor is Guggenheim’s Chris Krueger much convinced. “Despite all the progress (particularly on revenue) between Speaker Boehner (R-OH) and President Obama over the past 72 hours, we continue to believe that there is only a 30% chance of a deal by January 1,” he writes.

Fund watch: Muni investors, for their part, aren’t taking any chances. The iShares S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund (MUB) lost 0.81% in heavy trading volume on Monday, closing at $110.15, notes my colleague Mike Aneiro: “The largest municipal ETF is now down from a peak of $114.07 at the end of November and is trading at a discount to net asset value for the first time since July[.]”

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Chris Dieterich has covered the U.S. stock market for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. He is a graduate of Regis University and the Missouri School of Journalism.